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Certified Diamonds

What You Should Know About Certified Diamonds

In the diamond industry there stones that are labeled "certified" diamonds. The "certification" of diamonds are done by companies such as GIA (Gemological Institute of America), EGL (European Gemological Lab) as well as some other smaller certification laboratories.

The truth of the matter is that none of the laboratories that certify diamonds actually certify the diamonds. In reality, they are simply offering an "opinion" about the diamond's quality.

According to definition, "Certification" means "to guarantee, to attest as being true as meeting of standard." However, the papers which certification labs give with each diamond are actually a gem lab report, and not a guarantee. In fact, on all of the documents they provide with a so-called "certified" diamond, it is stated "this is not a guarantee"; which clearly contradicts the definition of the term.

Lab reports were first done many years ago and took much time and care to complete. Large, major diamonds were assessed by the labs as to mark their quality and became popular for people who weren't sure what they were buying or about the reputation of the jeweler from whom they were buying from.

Today, the quality of these lab reports has suffered, even to the point of being questionable in accuracy. Another problem that has occurred is that diamonds "with papers" can be as much as 20% to30% higher in price than they really should be.

The IMG Difference

At IMG, when we grade diamonds that do already posses "papers", our stones are graded against master stones for comparison of color. We also test them with sensitive machinery that also reads color. Our GIA-trained diamond professionals look over the diamonds and examine their qualities. With experience of over 250 combined years, our experts provide our customers with accurate and thoughtful diamond assessments.

As an added services, IMG can also provide laboratory assessments and guarantee for certified diamonds in Cleveland. For those who prefer to have paperwork on their diamonds, IMG employs a laboratory that guarantees all of their grading in writing. This lab offers an additional measure of quality and confidence for particular IMG customers.